The Waiting Game
by Butterfly218
Summary: It's game where you lose and gain. It's game no one likes to play. Especially sixteen-year-old Cher Redfield.


**Hi there, everyone! I tried doing this one-shot because I've always wanted to do one. Unfortunately, it ate my whole day. This is a part of my story and this will probably leave you hanging. So if you'd rather read this when the story's done, well, good luck because I don't see that happening in the coming three months or so. Anyways, leave a review or message and tell me what you think ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil except Cher and Ethan.**

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"Truth, after all, wears a different face to everybody, and it would be too tedious to wait till all were agreed." - James Russell Lowel

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Waiting had always been a game you hated playing. You guess no one ever does have any say in such matters, whether they like it or not. Half of your life, all you did was waiting. Wait and wait and wait.

* * *

You waited for Chris. You knew better. In fact, you knew everything. And you were so good at ignoring the signs, the warnings, the murders and everything that indicated something was wrong, you started believing yourself.

It was a coward's way out but Ethan's life, his family, depended on you. So, you left the lives of eleven people into the hands of fate and waited for them, hopefully glancing at the helicopter, and praying that your brother will be one of the people who came back safely. You risked your brother's life, his team, and the girl he loves; almost half the people you've known and loved for more than a year.

Watching them leave one by one made you cry. Letting your brother go was something you just couldn't stand that it made you beg and almost spill the beans.

* * *

You waited for your parents. The car just crashed and your father barely managed to extract you from it. Seeing the wounds on your arms and legs while seeing his on the forehead and chin, made you wonder who fared worse. He laid you on the soft ground a safe distance from the crash. The rain helped wash off the blood and you finally saw the depth of your wounds. There were shards of glass embedded in some.

"Use this phone, call the paramedics and stay here, all right? I'll be back. Elaine is still in there" was what Richard said as he laid a kiss on your forehead. This was a first for you to hear; you would always hear you parents call each other different names and sometimes curse words.

You didn't beg him to stay here and wait for the paramedics. You didn't tell him that you can smell something wrong with the car or suggest that it could be gasoline. Instead, you nodded and start to dial 911. You could see the urgency in your father's eyes that he was fully aware of the situation. You let him run back to the car to help your unconscious mother out as you continued hoping with a phone in your ear. "Hello, this is 911 emergency. May I help you?"

The next thing you knew was the hot air all around, your feet on nothing and the ground coming at you. You lose your hold on the phone and grip on what was happening. Skin met asphalt and soil as your breath was taken away. All of a sudden, the night wasn't so dark and cold anymore, even with the rain pouring in.

Realizing what happened didn't make you feel any better.

* * *

You waited for Ethan. Because you had to go, for his safety and yours. You were convinced that you did nothing wrong and kept asking why this was happening to you. If you stay, he dies. If you leave, you die. And honestly, you would rather go with the latter.

In your place was a blue box. Covered with baby blue gift wrap, it used to contain your favorite pair of shoes. Now, it contains items that any person would usually throw out. But to both of you, these items' value was worth more than a mountain of diamonds.

An agreement was passed between you. "Until I return our box myself to you, then we can't see each other. But if I send this to you through mail myself, it means you have to stop waiting, all right?" Because it only meant two words; game over, stop waiting because there was nothing to wait for anymore. It was a scary thought you didn't want to think about. So, you shut off every pessimistic thing your mind kept saying and for the first time in a long time, you started listening to naive little things And for a while, it made you forget where you were, what was happening, and the reality you were in. Then he gave you a kiss that meant a goodbye to you. You never thought of asking him this question.

"What does it mean when it's Sherry who's returning our box?"

* * *

And now, holding your sister's note while playing another game of waiting, you realized irony was something you never found funny. You tried to think and laugh about it once but there was just nothing funny when the joke was on you.

_Cher, _

_I'll be back, I promise. I just desperately need to talk to Chris. I just got a feeling that something's wrong._

_Take care. I love you._

_Claire _

_P.S. If it's any consolation, I bought you coffee crumble cake._

It was a cheap stunt you always did when younger, leaving notes lying around. Something you learned Chris and Claire loved doing back in the days from your parent's stories. You swore to yourself this was the last time you keep things to yourself and pretend everything was all right.

* * *

A ring jolted you awake and the sunlight from the living room window penetrated the room. Little dusts floating about weren't the only thing you noticed. The phone continued ringing.

It was the seventh one when you answered. "Hello?" The voice brought back that sense of relief you last felt when you saw Chris came back alive and well. "Cher? Oh, thank goodness, you're all right! I'm so sorry that all I ever left you was a note. And I know a sorry isn't enough and that it will never be…"

You love your sister and you couldn't care less that it wasn't enough, as long as she was safe and sound. The floodgate was about to open and you could hear hers was just the same. Your knees were about to buckle so you sat down on the floor as you listen to Claire's voice and remember how comforting it was during those rainy nights.

* * *

"Sherry?" was the first word you say when you met up with your sister. They were across the lobby filled people. Claire and the little girl were the only ones you recognize among the three. You thought she was one of the people who perished with the city but thankfully, she wasn't. The trio looked nothing alike starting with the man's piercing blue eyes, Claire's vibrant ones, and Sherry's soft hue. Their movements around each other were enough to tell you that they found one another in the outbreak and managed to get out of there alive and together.

You were so happy you didn't see the look on Claire's and Sherry's eyes. What you did see was the thing behind Sherry. She tried hiding it but it was a too big of a box for a petite girl like her. You stopped short in front of them and tried to speak a question you'd never thought of. Because he promised you.

And he was one of the people whom you trusted to never break any promise.

"Where's Ethan?"

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"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddha

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**AN: There you have it folks! My first one-shot! I hope you like it. I accept professionally all kinds of criticism, as long as it is delivered in a civilized way. **

**Please leave message after this ^_^ or maybe even a review! Which would be really great.**


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